[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 38 (Monday, September 22, 2003)]
[Pages 1225-1226]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major Illicit Drug 
Producing Countries for 2004

September 15, 2003

 Presidential Determination No. 2003-38

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: Presidential Determination on Major Drug Transit or Major 
Illicit Drug Producing Countries for 2004

    Consistent with section 706(1) of the Foreign Relations 
Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) (the ``FRAA''), 
I hereby identify the following countries as major drug-transit or major 
illicit drug producing countries: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, 
Brazil, Burma, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, 
Haiti, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, 
Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
    The Majors List applies by its terms to ``countries.'' The United 
States Government interprets the term broadly to include entities that 
exercise autonomy over actions or omissions that could lead to a 
decision to place them on the list and, subsequently, to determine their 
eligibility for certification. A country's presence on the Majors List 
is not necessarily an adverse reflection of its government's 
counternarcotics efforts or level of cooperation with the United States.
    Consistent with the statutory definition of a major drug-transit or 
drug-producing country set forth in section 481(e)(5) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``FAA''), one of the reasons 
that major drug-transit or drug producing countries are placed on the 
list is the combination of geographical, commercial, and economic 
factors that allow drugs to transit or be produced despite the concerned 
government's most assiduous enforcement measures. Consistent with 
section 706(2)(A) of the FRAA, I hereby designate Burma and Haiti as 
countries that have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to 
adhere to their obligations under international counternarcotics 
agreements and take the measures set forth in section 489(a)(1) of the 
FAA. Attached to this report are justifications (statements of 
explanation) for each of the countries so designated, as required by 
section 706(2)(B).
    I have also determined, in accordance with provisions of section 
706(3)(A) of the FRAA, that provision of U.S. assistance to Haiti in FY 
2004 is vital to the national interests of the United States.
    Combating the threat of synthetic drugs remains a priority, 
particularly the threat from club drugs, including MDMA (Ecstasy). Since 
January, we have redoubled our efforts with The Netherlands, from which 
the majority of U.S. MDMA seizures originate. I commend the Government 
of The Netherlands for its efforts to address this scourge, including 
increased enforcement, improved risk assessment and targeting 
capabilities of passenger aircraft and cargo, and international 
cooperation to control precursor chemicals. I urge the Government of The 
Netherlands to focus its efforts on dismantling the significant criminal 
organizations responsible for this illicit trade, using all tools 
available to law enforcement. Continued progress in implementing our 
joint action plan, developed in March, should have a significant impact 
on the production and transit of MDMA from The Netherlands to the United 
States. Although we have seen a stabilization of MDMA use rates 
domestically, there is an increase in the number of countries in which 
MDMA is produced and trafficked. We will continue to monitor the threat 
from synthetic drugs and the emerging trends.
    The United States and Canada are both targeted by international 
trafficking organizations. We continue to work closely with the 
Government of Canada to stem the flow of illicit drugs to our countries 
and across our common borders. The United States remains concerned about 
the diversion of large quantities of precursor chemicals from Canada 
into the United States for use in producing

[[Page 1226]]

methamphetamines. We hope that Canada's newly implemented control 
regulations will disrupt that flow. The United States is also concerned 
about widespread Canadian cultivation of high-potency marijuana, 
significant amounts of which are smuggled into the United States from 
Canada. We will work with the Government of Canada in the coming year to 
combat these shared threats to the security and health of our citizens.
    In the 8 months since my January determination that Guatemala had 
failed demonstrably in regard to its counternarcotics responsibilities, 
the Government of Guatemala has made efforts to improve its 
institutional capabilities, adhere to its obligations under 
international counternarcotics agreements, and take measures set forth 
in U.S. law. These initial steps show Guatemala's willingness to better 
its counternarcotics practices, but the permanence of these improvements 
has yet to be demonstrated. I expect Guatemala to continue its efforts 
and to demonstrate further progress in the coming year.
    We are deeply concerned about heroin and methamphetamine linked to 
North Korea being trafficked to East Asian countries, and are 
increasingly convinced that state agents and enterprises in the DPRK are 
involved in the narcotics trade. While we suspect opium poppy is 
cultivated in the DPRK, reliable information confirming the extent of 
opium production is currently lacking. There are also clear indications 
that North Koreans traffic in, and probably manufacture, 
methamphetamine. In recent years, authorities in the region have 
routinely seized shipments of methamphetamine and/or heroin that had 
been transferred to traffickers' ships from North Korean vessels. The 
April 2003 seizure of 125 kilograms of heroin smuggled to Australia 
aboard the North Korean-owned vessel ``Pong Su'' is the latest and 
largest seizure of heroin pointing to North Korean complicity in the 
drug trade. Although there is no evidence that narcotics originating in 
or transiting North Korea reach the United States, the United States is 
intensifying its effort to stop North Korean involvement in illicit 
narcotics production and trafficking and to enhance law-enforcement 
cooperation with affected countries in the region to achieve that 
objective.
    You are hereby authorized and directed to submit this report under 
section 706 of the FRAA, transmit it to the Congress, and publish it in 
the Federal Register.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., September 18, 
2003]

Note: This memorandum was published in the Federal Register on September 
19.